Hi. This is my first story so please let me know if you liked it and if you want more stories.
It is may. And Auradon Woods are at their finest. The sunlight dapples the carpet of bluebells, their sweet strong scent wafting through the leafy glaze. There are cool, dark dens, twisting brambly pathways and winding streams. And this wood has an extra special secret. The Legend of Auradon Woods…
… One morning Belle and Fairy Godmother had gathered the teens on top of a peak that over looked the woods.
"Wow it looks even bigger from up here," Jane exclaimed as she recalled her childhood adventures. "No wonder I got lost in their as a kid."
"Well there'll be no time to get lost today. We need you to find the legend." Belle said.
"Legend?" Evie repeated curiously.
"The legend was a villain that escaped into the woods years ago, but no ones ever been able to find him." Belle explained.
"He's definitely in there though. I'm sure I heard the horses wild neighing when I was camping in their last summer." Doug piped up.
The legend was well known between the Aks, as were the woods. It was when they would spend their free times clambering over the fallen trees or "sword fighting" with giant sticks almost as tall as themselves, saving each other from the evil dragon. Not that they would ever tell Mal that.
Regarding the legend, some claimed to have seen him, some thought he had died or disappeared and some thought he was never there to begin with.
"And the elves tell me they've seen him too," Jane said.
"I thought the elves couldn't talk." Mal asked. As part of her magical training her mother insisted she had, Mal studied lots magical creatures but she never recalled hearing that the elves could talk.
"They use sign language." Jane replied dryly.
That earned lot of confused looks on the VKs faces, especially Gil, he didn't even know what sign language was!
"And so your job is to find him and his horse. Whoever finds him will sure to be the best." Belle said as an easy motivator for the group. They'd fight till the death to be the best.
Gil was very excited to explore the woods, "Right let's see. Blondest men go first. Ah that's me!" Gil said as he took of running down the slope towards the edge of the woods… only to be stopped by mole hills. " Ah ha mole hills!" he shouted whilst stomping on the little mounds of soft soil.
"Gil the woods!" Uma shouted at him annoyed. It took so long for him to focus on the one task and get it done.
"OK Uma, our turn. Ill trust you'll be able to hear over Gils racket." Evie said whilst promptly standing up, eager to go.
"Ive put up with him for years now, I'll be alright." she said joining Evie on the descend down the hill. "I'll find that legend in no time at all!"
So, one by one the teens got up to join the others in the woods. Jay first, Mal second, Audrey third then Harry then Doug and finally, Carlos and Dude.
Eventually there was just Ben and Jane left, " Ben I think I should come with you." Belle said turning to her son.
"What? No way!" Ben exclaimed. He loved his mother so much but he didn't need for her baby sit him. Especially as he was the oldest out of the group.
"I know what your like you'll be diving over rocks and…" Belle explained.
"I don't wanna have to hang around waiting for you to catch up," he said "Right o' laters!" and he took off.
"Just don't go mad!" she shouted after him.
"Well it's just you left Jane," FG said.
"Yes." she responded nervously. The last time she ventured that far into the woods alone was when she got lost and was out there for half the night – very scary for an 8 year old.
"Just keep your wits about you, remember the path you took and you won't get lost." FG advised.
"Ok mum, bye." And that was it. All the teens were now starting the search for the Legend of Auradon Woods as Jane anxiously joined them, they had all scattered out between the dense trees and foliage. On one side of the woods, one could hear Gil's signing as he ran about.
"Shut up Gil!" Harry yelled to him. Like Uma, he was in a bad mood. This was the last thing he wanted to be doing – running around some woods like headless chickens looking for something that probably doesn't exist.
Jane didn't care about the legend either, only if she made it out alive "Ok I've been down the first on the left and now the… first on the right." She tracked every step she took, her mother's advice ringing loudly in her head.
Dude couldn't make up his mind which sent he wanted to follow so he and Carlos were essentially headless chickens "This way. This way. It's gotta be this way. Oh no, no, no it's the other way. The other way, gotta be the other way."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the woods… "Here we go" Ben muttered as he expertly edged his way up a fallen tree. Ben spend a lot of his childhood here doing the exact same thing, any rock or tree he found he climbed upon. I'd like to see Harry get up here he thought to himself. The tree he was on must have been down for a long time because the wood was rotten so when he put his foot on a smaller branch, he fell off right into the nettles, brambles and sticky weeds. "Ow" he sighed. Still he heaved himself out of the undergrowth and gave up.
Evie was quite enjoying her stroll through the trees, despite being in Auradon for 1 and a half years, she never really experienced the woods in all its glory. A nice place to come and sketch she thought until she reached some flies. They kept attacking her face so she broke out into a run, swatting them away from her " Ew flies, flies, flies, ah wasp!" she screamed.
Audrey completely gave up walking altogether. Every year the bluebells bloomed gorgeous as ever but they didn't last very long so she sat down to admire them whilst she could and listen to the birds.
Jay and Doug weren't having much luck either. "Any luck yet man?" Jay called out as he passed Doug.
"Not yet" Doug replied.
"There's a surprise" Jay huffed out.
As a whole, all the teens were getting frustrated and annoyed. They were running around, wasting time looking for a legend. Key word – legend.
"Where are you?" Harry yelled to no one.
"Where is he?" Uma said, getting angrier by the second.
"Where am I?" Jane said as she stared to panic.
"Who am I?" Gil wondered as he scampered away.
"Ah I can hear you, I can hear you." Uma whispered as she crept up on something rustling behind a bush. "I can… SHIT!" she screamed as a stag jumped out and scampered away.
"Now this is what I call a legend!" Gil exclaimed as he pulled damp log of the ground and ran away with it. Out the woods, back up the hill and up to the peak.
"Well that's one down." Belle muttered.
"Oop and Uma," Fairy Godmother chuckled as she stomped out the trees looking very irritated. "Better luck next time Uma!"
"Right that's it lets go home there no legend in there." she said, raging about not to be the one who found the legend.
"Oh and Ben." FG noted. Belle turned to look at the gate hole and sure enough there was her son limping out with mud on his clothes and a weed in his hair.
"Oh what sort of an eejit is he?" she sighed. And sure enough, one by one, they all trickled out of the woods.
But no one had heard from Mal.
She decided that if she were a dragon she'd be bigger so she'd get more ground covered quicker. This proved to work as she was very deep into the woods, deeper than any of the others went and was unaware they'd given up. "Oh come on he's got to be around here somewhere." she huffed. And yes, she could talk as a dragon, she modified the gummy that dude ate just over a year ago. This version would make animals talk but not tell the truth.
"Oh come on he's got to be around here somewhere." a voice echoed.
"Ah. Who's there?" she called out.
"I am the breeze that rustles through the trees, the air that you breathe in, I'm a hooting owl and a scurrying weasel. Ha. Just kidding! I'm the headless horseman! Alright my lover?" the voice said. Mal looked around frantically scanning between the endless trees. And then she saw him…
A headless figure was perched on a black horse, dressed in dark cloaks that looked old and ratty. "Ah the Legend of Auradon Woods!" Mal exclaimed. She honestly couldn't believe he was real!
"Oh please my darling, just call me Legend. And this here is my trusty horse Dollop." he said as he introduced himself. "Now," he said addressing the horse instead, "Do you remember what happens when we see another human?". The horse reared up, ready to go, "That's right. RUN!".
They galloped away and Mal gave chase, twisting left and right through the maze of trees. Wood snapped beneath her feet, the brambles pricked her scales and the low hanging branches wacked her in the face. The Legend knew all the short cuts and quickly disappeared but Mal could still hear him cackling. It was as if he was mocking her.
Just when she thought she'd lost him, she slowed down and just so happened to focus upon a structure with a familiar person and horse on it. What the hell is that?, she thought as she crept forwards, as silently as possible. Luckily, the obnoxious sound of him laughing covered up the sounds of the twigs snapping under neath her feet.
"Oh well done my beauty. She have to be an amazing kind of a dragon to find us here." she heard him say.
Yes! Got you. Maybe I am an amazing kind of a dragon she thought happily to herself.
"Oh well I'll be jiggered you did find us." the Legend said, shocked to see Mal squeezing through the gap in the stone walls of this very peculiar place. It was made out of very thin stones stacked on top of each other to make walls, the there was no roof or anything that made it resemble a shelter but there were different levels and full staircase. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
"What is this place?" she asked curiously.
"It's our home, Chateau Sheep. We call it that because there was a sheep here once we found it." he explained "Lovely spot isn't it."
"Lovely." she agreed.
"The only drawback is the flies," he continued, "but luckily, Dollop here can do this." Dollop the horse flicked his tail and swished his head in demonstration.
Mal focused on one flying in front of her own face so she caught it in her mouth and yes, she swallowed it. "I got one too." she said proud of herself.
"Ah ha, ha, ha! Your quite funny for a dragon." he told her. Mal smirked.
"So how long have you been here?" she asked.
"Oh I ran away from Aurodon when Dollop here was only 3 years old. I got bored of the place and being a villain. Good thing and all cause then they all got chucked on the Isle. Anyway what you doing here?" he challenged.
"I've come to bring you back to Aurodon." she said.
His voiced quickly changed and he sounded a lot sadder "Oh. I had a feeling you'd say that"
"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it once your back with civilisation, you'll see all your old friends again." she said.
"But the trees are my friends" he explained.
Mal's mouth gaped. " I didn't come all the way out here for you to stay and talk to the trees. Now come on pack your bags, we're leaving." she argued.
"Oh it doesn't look like we have much choice do we Dollop. Oh well, we'll miss it in here we will, we were happy in our little castle!" he sadly exaggerated, " you should never argue with a reptile that's the first rule of hoof!"
Dollop seemed sad to be leaving too. " I know darling, I don't want to leave either but the dragon know what's best for us and if she gets us out she'll be the best" the legend said softly while patting his neck as they trotted down the path towards the gate.
"No! No it's not just about that." Mal protested. "I'm sure you'll love it back out there with other people."
"Oh come now you've spend enough time with the people out there to know who boring they are! All they go on about is the weather and parties and the food and… oh here we are. The edge of the woods. Yep looks as dull as ever."
"Wait, wait, wait, no, no, no, you really don't like it out there do you?" Mal said running in front of them to stop them.
"That I don't my darling, that I don't" he admitted.
Mal knew the pain of being forced to leave your home all too well. One hand it felt wrong to force the legend to leave but on the other, she didn't want the days effort to go to waste and go home empty handed. She stood and pondered this for a short while. But eventually, she decided. Oh I can't believe I'm about to do this she thought defeatedly.
So, Mal turned the legend and his horse around and took them back into the woods. "Oh well easy come easy go." Mal muttered as she watched them leave her behind. But deep down in her gut, she knew she made the right decision.
Just before he left her sight, the legend turned back, "Oh Mal I must just say you may not be the best to them but you will always be to us." This made her smile. She was blown away by the legend's kindness and was grateful to have met him. As he disappeared back into the undergrowth, she turned around and went home herself.
Back on the peak, everyone had been waiting for Mal to come back. "It'll be dark any moment now, what's she doing out there?" Evie wondered aloud.
"Oh there she, is welcome back Mal!" Gil shouted as she climbed the hill back up to the peak.
"Sorry I took so long, I er, got a bit lost" she said, feeling a bit guilty leaving them waiting all day.
"Oh dear Mal we though you'd fallen down a well" Uma remarked, laughing at her own joke. Mal stopped listening to Uma's teasing and instead imagined a much nicer laugh. The laugh of her secret new friend.
The Legend of Auradon Woods